Callan Stone is in the middle of a tough legal battle against a corrupt doctor who was hired by his Workers Compensation insurer to fraudulently terminate his medical care, and against a corrupt system that insulates such doctors from accountability.

In his battle, he is fighting not only for his own rights, but the rights of others similarly harmed by so-called "insurance medical examiners."

After 2 ½ years of legally battling this corruption, Callan needs help paying his mounting legal costs so he can continue his battle—and not only win his case, but seek a legislative remedy that will effectively end the corrupt practices he is battling in his own state, and possibly affect practices in other states, where similar abuse of injured workers is common.

If you know someone deprived of needed care by an unjust “insurance medical exam,” or would like to protect the public from such fraudulent exams, please help Callan with his determined efforts to finally put an end to this widespread corruption!

Costs to date

Over the past 2 ½ years, this legal battle has cost Callan an estimated $75,000 of his medical / special needs fund created from settlements he received from the drivers who caused his work-related accident described below. He needed this fund to help him with his future needs due to his impairments. That fund is now almost all gone, as a result of this prolonged uphill battle.

At least three attorneys have said it will cost Callan a minimum of $50,000 to $75,000 for their services—and likely more—if he is to have their representation as he continues his fight for injured workers’ rights.

But at this point, any amount would help—especially if you also spread the word!

The problem

In Utah, and in many other states, insurers are allowed to terminate injured workers’ legally guaranteed medical care and other benefits on the recommendation of an “insurance medical examiner” who is often paid by the insurer to fraudulently terminate their benefits. This problem is far worse than most people realize—until they, or someone they know, gets seriously injured at work.

Not only did this happen to Callan—in a way that caused him additional injury after a near-fatal work-related accident—but he knows of many others similarly harmed, including at least one man he is aware of who died as a result of unlawful termination of his Workers Compensation medical and other benefits.

But the judge in Callan’s medical malpractice case against the doctor who prematurely ended Callan’s care recently ruled that insurance medical examiners are protected by “state policy” from any liability for harm they may cause.

On the basis of that unjust ruling, the judge made other legal errors as well, in a way not likely to be upheld. He added, “Maybe I’m wrong,” and implicitly encouraged Callan to appeal, which Callan is in the process of doing.

To do so, Callan urgently needs help with his legal costs, so he will prevail—not only for his benefit, but the benefit of others. That’s his goal.

Callan’s accident and its aftermath

On September 27, 2012, Callan was driving to a plumbing job in Springville, Utah, when he was in a near-fatal freeway accident involving a semi-truck. He suffered multiple injuries and had to undergo a brain operation for a subdural hematoma and midline brain shift. After surgery, he developed bacterial meningitis, which left him with numerous serious impairments.

These injuries were covered by his employer’s Workers Compensation policy.

Six months after his accident, the insurer enlisted an in-house “insurance medical examiner” to drop Callan’s medical and related benefits, even though he still had serious unhealed injuries that prevented him from returning to work. This loss forced Callan to re-enter the workforce with severe impairment, including debilitating daily head pain triggered by exertion, related debilitating dizziness and sleep deprivation, cognitive deficits, and serious problems with his injured jaw, legs, knees, hips, tailbone, and back.

Within two years, Callan lost three successive low-paying, part-time jobs without his needed medical treatment, severely aggravating his initial work-related injuries. More recently, he lost a menial part-time job stocking shelves in a grocery store after working there two years (during which he seriously injured his back due to unhealed injuries to his legs, knees, hips, and back). He lost all these jobs—including an esteemed opportunity as an EMT—for liability reasons due to his health.

During the past six years, Callan has earned a total of $20,284—an average of $3,220a year—working as hard as he can with his impairments.

Labor Commission appeal and Callan’s accident settlements

Under Utah law, the standard remedy to unfair termination of Work Comp benefits is an appeal before the Labor Commission. This process can take one to four years, according to the Commission and media reports.

As Callan was preparing an appeal to the Labor Commission following the loss of his benefits, his Work Comp insurer notified him that the insurer intended to seek compensation from the drivers who had caused his accident in order to pay itself back for providing his benefits, as allowed by law. The insurer advised Callan, however, that it preferred that he postpone appealing the loss of his benefits and directly seek the accident settlements on his own, since he would receive more money that way after paying back the insurer.

Callan’s attorneys did as his insurer advised, and he received two settlements for a great deal more than he would have received if he had simply appealed the loss of his benefits. These settlements enabled him to buy a 6-acre farm near his parents’ small farmto supplement his limited income and help him work productively at his own pace. He obtained the farm in the hope of having a chance to get married, raise a family, and live a normal life in the face of his impairments. But he is willing to sell his farm if he can’t raise enough money to continue his fight in behalf of injured workers, despite the farm’s obvious value to his health and future.

Funds nearly depleted

Due to his sporadic income from low-paying, part-time jobs, the money from Callan’s settlements (after buying his farm) has been his primary source of security during the past few years—helping him with vital living, medical, and other expenses, as well as the cost of his legal battle. Unfortunately, as he undertakes an appeal before the Utah Supreme Court to overturn the judge’s unjust recent ruling, his funds are now severely depleted.

It looks like he may have to sell his farm—which he needs for his recovery, happiness, and future security, in view of his impairments—if he can’t raise enough money to continue without doing so.

Callan needs significant help to continue!

If you would like to help Callan succeed in his efforts to rein in lawless “insurance medical examiners” in Utah—a result that could affect policy in other states—PLEASE DONATE and share this page. And also contact your legislator and demand needed changes in your state!